Poonch IED blast: Army identifies deceased officer, orders inquiry

The Indian army identified the deceased personnel as junior commanding officer S Sanayaima Kom who was part of the 2nd Naga Regiment. The explosive device is believed to have been planted ‘rogue elements’ from Pakistan.

A view of an Indian border post near the fencing along the Line of Control (LoC) in Balakot Sector in Poonch. An IED blast in the Degwar sector in Poonch killed one officer on April 1, 2017.(PTI File Photo)

An army officer, who was killed in Saturday’s IED blast near the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, was identified as Naib Subedar S Sanayaima Kom, a junior commissioned officer.

Kom was critically wounded in the blast that occurred in the Degwar sector of Poonch around 1:30 pm on Saturday. He was evacuated to an Army hospital in Poonch where he succumbed to his injuries.

A native of Manipur, he is survived by his wife and three children.

Defence spokesman Lt Col Manish Mehta said a court of inquiry has been initiated.

Kom was part of an advance party of the 2nd Naga Regiment, which will replace the 12 Jat Regiment in the area. According to an intelligence source, the officer was part of a joint patrol being familiarised with the posting.

“This area is known in the past for IEDs (planted) by Pakistan to inflict losses to Indian patrols. It apparently seems that some “rogue” elements from Pakistan had entered our Territory and planted the IED before escaping back to Pakistan,” he said.

The army clearly maps and maintains complete records of minefields, but the bombs, which weigh around 100 grams each, get displaced during rains.

In a similar instance of a landmine explosion, DIG OP Tanwar of the Border Security Force was killed near a forward post in Samba sector on November 16, 2009, when his vehicle went over a bomb.

Then General Officer Commanding-in-chief of the Northern Command, Lt Gen KT Parnaik, had in January 2013 admitted that frequent “accidental blasts” in KG sector of Poonch were mines planted by Pakistan targeting Indian soldiers.